Not breaking -- but must-read!
A recent Kossack's comment (please step forward to take credit) alerted me to the publications of (American born and educated) Canadian University Professor Bob Altemeyer posted at: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/...
Altemeyer's web-posted opus "The Authoritarians" very readably and humorously although terrifyingly (and presciently) summarizes, and discusses the political implications of, research studies by himself and others on the nature and inclinations of personalities that display various degrees of authoritarianism and social dominance, etc., and
What happens when authoritarian followers find the authoritarian leaders they crave and start marching together?
As he quotes one satisfied reader:
“It explains the things about conservatives that didn’t make any sense to me”
How important is this? Altemeyer's conclusion spells it out:
authoritarianism ... has placed America at one of those historic cross-roads that will profoundly affect the rest of its history, and the future of our planet....time is running out, fast, and nearly everything is at stake.
For Kossacks, as Altemeyer says in his preface:
this book “explains a lot.” Many scattered impressions about the enemies of freedom and equality become solidified by science and coherently connected here.
The studies explain so much about these people.
Yes, the research shows they are very aggressive, but why are they so hostile?
Yes, experiments show they are almost totally uninfluenced by reasoning and evidence, but why are they so dogmatic?
Yes, studies show the Religious Right has more than its fair share of hypocrites, from top to bottom; but why are they two-faced, and how come one face never notices the other?
Yes, their leaders can give the flimsiest of excuses and even outright lies about things they’ve done wrong, but why do the rank and file believe them?
Altemeyer's last chapter contains some common sense (but data-supported) recommendations on how to respond effectively to authoritarianism. His most basic recommendation is to be aware that:
the social dominators want you to be disgusted with politics, they want you to feel hopeless